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Poll: S. Koreans Oppose Trump's Cost-sharing Demands, but Support Alliance

William Gallo

   SEOUL - South Koreans overwhelmingly oppose U.S. President Donald
   Trump's demand that Seoul pay more for the cost of the U.S. military
   presence, but remain broadly optimistic about the future of the
   U.S.-South Korea alliance, according to a new poll.

   Ninety-six percent of South Koreans do not want Seoul to increase its
   share of the cost of the 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea,
   according to the survey published Wednesday by the government-funded
   Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU).

   Around three quarters of South Koreans support maintaining the status
   quo, while a quarter say South Korea should pay less, the poll
   suggested.

   The U.S. and South Korea have engaged in two rounds of talks on the
   cost-sharing deal, which expires at the end of the year. Trump
   reportedly wants Seoul to pay more than five times the amount it
   contributes now.

   The KINU poll is the latest evidence that a major increase would be
   politically unfeasible for South Korean President Moon Jae-in,
   according to analysts.

   "It means big political costs for the Moon administration if they cave
   to U.S. pressure," says Ben Engel, who researches U.S. policy in South
   Korea and works as a researcher at the Institute for Peace and
   Unification Studies at Seoul National University.

   Trump has for decades accused South Korea and other allies of taking
   advantage of the U.S. He regularly calls for Seoul to dramatically
   increase its share of the cost of U.S. troops.

   According to a newly published memoir, Trump told his national security
   team in 2018 that it would be an "okay deal" if South Korea paid $60
   billion a year. South Korea's military budget in 2018 was $43 billion.

   South Korea in February agreed to pay $925 million to support the U.S.
   military presence this year -- an 8 percent increase from the previous
   year. But the agreement covered only one year, rather than multiple
   years as in the past.

   Despite rejecting Trump's cost-sharing demands, a broad majority of
   South Koreans (91%) say the U.S. military presence in South Korea is
   necessary, according to the poll. Even after a hypothetical
   reunification with North Korea, a majority of South Koreans (54%) would
   still welcome a U.S. troop presence, it suggested.

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